By Clara Atwell, Business Editor and Associate Editor-in-Chief
SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit that aims to help students develop personal, workplace and technical skills by partnering them with teachers and industry workers. The abilities students learn through the organization help them to get jobs that require some kind of vocational background right out of high school or college.
According to the SkillsUSA website, the U.S. workforce currently lacks career readiness and workers within the skilled labor sector. For every two jobs that require a bachelor’s degree there are seven that require a one year certificate or associate’s degree, but these jobs are not being filled due to workers’ deficiency in hands-on skills.
The same issue can be found in the lack of career readiness among young Americans. Many graduates entering the workforce have shortcomings in skills like teamwork and collaboration, as well as professionalism and work ethic.
SkillsUSA helps students to learn these necessary life skills that will assist them in their careers and beyond.
Vashon’s SkillsUSA branch began last year when Desiree Nelson, who is in charge of administrative support for counseling and career and technical education (CTE) at the high school, was looking for a program to fulfill the school’s outside leadership requirement for CTE classes.
English and journalism teacher Steven Denlinger was the original advisor; however, science teacher Melissa Kehl took over the position last October and has held it since then.
Kehl’s long-term goal for the program is to enter the Vashon branch of SkillsUSA into the organization’s competitions, which test students’ skills in various CTE subjects ranging from plumbing to criminal justice.
Right now, her goal is to bring in one guest speaker a month to raise awareness among the student body about different jobs that don’t require a four-plus-year college education.
“[The high school’s] curriculum is a little bit higher-level than some other schools, which would indicate a push towards college careers,” Kehl said. “I think parents push for their kids to want to go to college, and I think that in modern-day society a four-year degree is the least you need. There are alternatives out there, but [they require] skills. … Thats where SkillsUSA comes in.”
The group’s first meeting was in January with guest speaker David Knight, a John L. Scott real estate agent. The second meeting took place in February with Hedy Anderson, co-owner of Sugar Shack and founder of King Caramel, who discussed running a small business.
In March, Paul Boyes is coming in to talk about jobs in computer technology that don’t require a college education. In the future Kehl hopes to host employees from Thriftway and Island Lumber.
Twenty-five students attended the first meeting, and 26 attended the second. Despite one of the goals of the organization being to introduce students to vocational job opportunities, Kehl believes that most of the current members are college-bound.
“I feel like a lot of the kids that are attending really do intend to go to a four-year college, but they are just active kids, and they want to learn about everything,” Kehl said.
The meetings take place once a month during block-week SMART periods and always include complimentary lemonade and cookies. Students can become members of SkillsUSA by paying a $7 fee.
Membership allows students to attend meetings and opens the door to many scholarship opportunities.